Civil rights groups turn to court to have arms deal findings set aside

JOHANNESBURG – The Pretoria high Gauteng High will on Tuesday hear an application by two civil rights organizations to have the findings and recommendations of the controversial Arms Deal inquiry reviewed and set aside.

The court application by Corruption Watch and Right2know came after Judge Willie Seriti, who headed the commission, exonerated politicians of wrongdoing when he released his report in 2016.

The inquiry was appointed by former President Jacob Zuma in 2011 to investigate alleged corruption in the multibillion-rand arms procurement deal in 1999.

The attorney for Corruption Watch Debra Muthemwa-Thumbo said they would argue in court on Tuesday that the allegations of corruption in the Arms Deal were not properly investigated by the inquiry.

“The commission of inquiry didn’t properly exercise its investigative role or use its investigative capacity to truly root out the truth of the allegations of corruption that were involved in the Arms Deal.”

She said they want people who were involved in corruption to be held to account.

“The alleged perpetrators or accused cannot use the findings of the commission as a ground to escape accountability.”

Zuma used the findings of the commission in his court bid for a permanent stay of prosecution in his corruption case, saying he was exonerated.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa it’s understood will not oppose the application for the findings to be set aside.